Flow control means



Aug. 28,1951 5, LANDQN 2,566,216 7 FLOW CONTROL MEANS original FiledDad. .5, 1943 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Aug. 28, 1951 w 5, LANDON2,566,215

FLOW CONTROL MEANS Original Filed Dec. 5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG-5 Illllll lNVENTQR qua, ATLTORNEY Patented Aug. 28, 1951 FLOW CONTROL MEANSI Walter S. Landon Detroit, Mich., assignor to Detroit LubricatorCompany, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Original applicationDecember 3, 1943, Serial No.

512,718, now Patent No. te'mber 9, 1947. Divided 2,427,059, dated Sepandthis application September 12, 1945, Serial No. 615,874

6 Claims. (01. 137-68) 1 This invention relates to new and usefuldevices for controlling the flow of liquid and more particularly toconstant liquid level devices adapted primarily for feeding liquid fuelto 9.

Referring to the drawings by characters 01' ref.- erence, l designatesgenerally a casing or container providing a constant liquid level.chamber 2 having an inlet passageway 3 with a horizontal gravity fedburner. 6 io havi an inter ally screw-threaded in- An object of theinvention is to provide means let portion 4 for connection to a supplytank. 866 to compensate for change in flow due to tem- Fig. 4. Thehorizontal portion containsa tubular perature change, strainer member 5carried by a threaded plug Another object is to overcome the wearing of6 s rewed into th horizontal passa eway portion movable parts which willresult from jarring and 10 t its Opp n f m h inlet o i n The oscillationof the device during times of non-use geway 3 has an upward extending posuch a ill occur in shipment. I in a hollow boss or tube 9 positionedwithin the Another object is to provide means to control chamber 2 sothat liquid must pass through the the liquid head on the outlet or thedevice in t iner member 5 during flow to the portion 1. accordance withchange in the eflective area of Screw-threaded n h upper end i the bossthe outlet port, 8 there is a guide and port member 9 having an Anotherobject is to provide means to lock the inlet port a d va ve eat t and coainin a inlet and outlet valves in closed position. needle Valve IIwhich extends up beyond Another object is to provide means to establishth member 9 wh t s provided with an end predetermined flow from theoutlet, S101; H. The member 9 has lateral outlet DOIBS Another object isto provide a device which can be readily assembled and disassembled inthe field.

Another object is to provide means to prevent the undesirable admissionof water or other liquid to the device.

The invention consists in the improved construction and combination ofparts to be more fully described hereinafter and the novelty of thefloat and inlet valve.

I3 above and on the outlet side of the valve seat and feeding into thechamber 2. Positioned within the chamber 2 there is a hollow annularfloat member M which may be of thin sheet metal and which is operativelyconnected to the inlet valve II by a resilient lever it having aresilient portion and fulcrumed on a pivot pin or shaft It. The lever l5has a bell crank portion with a substantially horizontal arm I! havingan end slot which will be particularly pointed out and dis- IS with aflared or divergent opening and having tinctly claimed. a width torotatably fit a cross pin I 9 extending In the accompanying drawings tobe taken as between and secured in the side walls 01' the valve a partof this specification, there are fully and slot l2. The slot I8 is ofslightly reduced width clearly illustrated several preferred embodimentsadjacent and on the inward side or its flared end of the invention, inwhich drawings: portion so that the pin l9 will not pass freely Figure lis a top plan view of the control detherethrough. Therefore, the sidewalls or arms vice having the cover member removed to show of the slot18 must be flexed slightly in order to internal structure; remove thevalve member I I from the arm i1. Fig. 2 is a view in section on theline 2-2 of The lever l5 has an upstanding arm 20 which is Fig. 1;inclined at an angle of about 10 to a vertical Fig. 3 is a view insection on the line 3-4 of plane through the shaft It or to a planethrough Fig.2; the. pin l9 and the longitudinal centerline of Fig. 4 isa view in section on the line 4-4 of valve member II and which ispositioned adja- Fig. 2; cent the said plane through the valve memberFig. 5 is a detail view looking from left toright pin i9 butintermediate the pin I9 and the shaft facing Fig. 2 and taken on theline 5-5; l6. Secured to the arm 20, as by rivets 2|, and Fig. 6 is adetail view showing the changed providing the resilient portion of leverii, there position of certain of the parts as a result of is a U-shapedtemperature responsive member temperature change; I 22 of bimetal havingan intermediate substan- Fig. 7 is a detail view looking from left toright tially semi-circular portion and tangential end facing Fig. 4 andshowing a modified form of con. portions, one of the end portions lyingand being trol device, and secured against the arm 29 by the rivets Ii.The Fig. 8 is a view in vertical section through the member 22, which ispreferably of about. .015 constant level casing with certain partsomitted metal thickness, has its lever secured and and and showinganother form of locking means for semi-circular portions of bimetal andpreferably has its other end portion 2901a single sheet or piece ofmetal so that portion 23 will not warp upon temperature change. Theportion 23 is preferably of the same metal as the float member l4 or ofa metal having substantially the same coefficient of expansion as themetal of the float member I4. The portion 23 is welded or fused to thebimetal semi-circular portion and is secured to the float member l4 bysolder or the like. Therefore, since the portion 23 is not flexed bytemperature change, change of temperature does not weaken the solderJoint.

The end portions of the shaft vertical opposetslots 24 in verticalbosses projecting inward to the chamber 2 from the side walls of thecasing I, the shaft l8 substantially fitting the slots 24, so that theshaft 16 is held against lateral movement transversely to itslongitudinal axis. The end portions of the shaft l6 extend throughinclined substantially horil6 extend into -zontal elongated apertures inparallel downward extending arms 25, see Figs. 2 and 5, projecting fromthe underside of parallel side flanges 26 of an adjustment andsupporting lever 21. The side flanges 26 at the end of the lever 21,opposite the supporting members 25, have downward extending bearing cars28 having substantially horizontal open bearing slots 29 therein openingthrough the end edges of the ears which face away from the members 25.The slots 29 receive a bearing shaft 30 secured at its ends in alinedapertures through side walls of the casing l and through positioningbosses 3| proJecting inward from the casing side walls. Positioned belowthe shaft 30 the casing i has a horizontal shelf or wall 32 whichcooperates with the cars 28 to locate the slots 29 on the shaft 33, thelower edge portions 33 of the ears 28 being arouate and serving as camscooperable with the shelf 32, so that when the lever 21 is positionedfor and moved into assembly into the casing l, the engagement of the earend portions 34 with the shelf 32 will guide and position the slots 23to slide over or onto the shaft 30 as the lever 21 is rotatedcounterclockwise downward and simultaneously slid toward the rightfacing Fig. 2. Through the shelf 32 there is a vertical internallythreaded aperture in which there is screwthreaded a downward extendingoverflow pipe 35 for outflow of liquid from the chamber 2 in the eventthe valve member H fails to seal the port 13. This pipe or tube 35 alsofunctions normally as an atmospheric air inlet to the chamber 2 and, byhaving it open downwardly through the shelf 32, prevents the entrance ofdirt, water or other foreign matter into the chamber 2.

Concentric with the float member 14 when it IS in horizontal position,as in Fig. 2, there is an upstanding combined liquid outlet and gas ventmember 35, of generally oval form in horizontal cross section. whichextends upward from the bottom wall of the casing l and terminatesadjacent the underside of the lever 21. Through the bottom wall of thecasing and an external coupling boss 31, there is an outlet passageway38 internally screw-threaded at its outer cylindrical end portion toreceive a pipe or conduit to be connected to the fuel burner or otherpoint of use of the liquid from chamber 2. Above the cylindrical outletpassageway portion, there is a transversely elongated portion 33,through the top wall of which open in substantially parallel verticalrelation a vent passage 43 and an outlet port 41 having a valve seatmember 42. Through the side wall of the member 33, at, but on the inlet.side of the seat member 42, there is a horizontal substantiallyrectangular slot 43 providing a port for flow of liquid fromthe chamber2 to the port 4| and forming part of the outlet passageway 38. Themember 36 has, above the slot 43, a cylindrical guideway 44 in whichthere is positioned a longitudinally reciprocal metering valve 45having, at its lower end, a cylindrical port closing portion 45 ofreduced diameter to slidably fit the outlet aperture through the seatmember 42. The valve portion 33 terminates in a downward taperedmetering portion 41, which cooperates with the seat member aperture tocontrol flow from the chamber 2. On the reduced end portion 45 there isa shut off disc or washer 43 engageable with the seat member 42 to sealthe outlet passageway 38, the disc 43 preferably being of resilientrubber-like material, such as Ameripol. The washer 48, however, may bedispensed with when the control device is to be used in extremely lowambient temperatures at which the viscosity of the liquid would renderthe washer unnecessary. The stem 49 of the valve 45 slidably fits theguideway 44 and has projecting therefrom upper and lower, substantiallyhorizontal and parallel, guide pins 50, 5| which are slidable into abayonet type slot 52 in the upper end portion of the member 33. The slot52 has downward facing locking shoulders 53 cooperable, upon rotation ofthe stem, with the upper circumferential edge of the pin 53 whichprovides an upward facing locking shoulder. The stem 49 extends upwardthrough a circular opening 54 in and through the lever 21 andtherebeyond through an aperture 55 through the cover member 56 of thecasing l. Within the casing l and above the lever 21, the stem 43 has adownward facing shoulder 51 against which abuts the upper end of ahelical coil spring 58 surrounding the stem. Secured as by rivets to theunderside of the web or base of the channel lever 21 at a point abovethe lever supporting shaft 33, there is a movable supporting member 59,preferably a leaf spring downwardly offset, as at 63, to liesubstantially parallel to the lever 21. The leaf spring 53 extendslongitudinally of the lever 21 to a point substantially midway betweenthe metering valve stem 43 and the float supporting arms 25. Through thespring 59 there is an elongated aperture 3| of less width than thediameter of lever aperture 54 and having at its end toward the leversupporting shaft 33 a radial slot 62. The pins 53, 5| are of a length topass readily through the-lever aperture 54 and are of a diameter andlength to pass readily through slot 52, so that the pins 50, 51 can bewithdrawn upwardly through the slot 52 and the aperture 54. The lowerend of the coil spring 58 seats on a washer or disc 33 which is of lessdiameter than the aperture 54 but which is of greater diameter than thewidth of the aperture 5i, so that the side edge portions of the disc 53seat on the leaf spring 53. The spring 53 is under compression andtherefore pulls and holds the upper circumferential edge of the pin 53into and in engagement with the underside of the leaf spring 53 at aside portion of the aperture 6|, so that the meteringvalve 45 is movablewith the lever 21. An adjustment screw 54 is adjustably screw-threadedin an aperture through the lever 21 and has, at its lower end, a head orlateral flange on which the leaf spring 53 seats, the leaf spring 53preferably being apertured to receive the screw 54. The leaf spring 53is therefore held by the screw head 35 against downward movementrelative to or away from the lever 21 but is free to be moved or flexedupward or toward its supporting lever 21, so that the valve member 46can have upward movement relative to lever 21.

The valve stem 49 above the shoulder 51 has a sliding lit in a closuremember or collar 66 which fits loosely for lateral play within the covermember aperture 55. The collar 66 has a circumferentialv flange 61 whichextends beyond and overlies the edge of aperture 55 and seats on the topface of the cover member 56. The collar 66 is held in the aperture 55 byan annular washer or disc 68 which engages the under face of the covermember 56 and which is secured to the collar member as, for example, byswaging over the under end portion of the collar member. The collar 66being free to aline itself with the stem 49, permits the stem to movefreely through the cover member 56 without binding against the side wallof the aperture, while maintaining a relatively tight fit in the collarmember aperture which closes the cover member aperture, so that liquidcannot gain access to the chamber through the cover member aperture oraround the stem 49. The cover member is preferably held in place on thecasing by screws 69, tapped into the side walls of the casing l. Agasket 10, sealing the joint between the cover member and casing, isalso provided.

Secured to the end wall of the casing I opposite the lever supportingshaft 30 there is a supporting member 1| in the form of an angle brackethaving a horizontal flange 12 extending toward the metering valve 45 andseating on upward facing shoulders or steps 13 on the internal wall ofcasing I. The bracket 1| has an upstanding flange 14 which laterallyabuts the inside face of the casing end wall and which is clamped andheld thereagainst by a clamp screw 15. In overlying relation to theinlet valve II, the lever 21 has a longitudinal extension 16 providing aspring receiving abutment portion which receives one end of a helicalcoil spring 11 having its other end located by and on a tongueprojecting from the bracket flange 12. The spring 11 is removablysecured to the bracket 1| by inserting an end portion of the springthrough a bracket aperture, as at 18, so that the end turn of the springis held in position on the bracket tongue. The spring 11 acts at anacute angle on and longitudinally of the lever 21 and is held undercompression between the bracket flange 12 and the lever 21 and has itspoint of engagement with lever 21 movable over or through center uponupward and downward movement of the lever. The component of force of thespring 11 acting longitudinally of the lever 21 holds the inner ends ofthe slots 29 of the supporting ears 2B resiliently against the fulcrumshaft 3|). In the upward position of the lever 21, the upward movementof the lever 21 by the upward component of force of the spring 11 islimited by a maximum fuel flow or high flre adjusting screw 19 which isadjustably screw-threaded through the bracket flange 12 and extendsdownward therefrom for engagement by the horizontal end portion of adownward offset arm 80 extending from the base or web of the lever 21.In the downward position of the lever 21, its downward movement isnormally limited by a resilient stop member 8|, preferably a leafspring, which exerts a greater resisting force than the downwardcomponent of force of the spring 11 in its down position. The leafspring II i riveted or otherwill pull the stop 80 up against thehigh nrescrewwise secured at one end, as at 82. to the top face of the web oflever 21 and has its free' end portion inclined and projecting downwardat the side of the stop arm for engagement with the top face of the heador flange of a low fuel flow or minimum flre adjustment memberor screw83 which is adjustable screw-threaded through the bracket flange 12 atone side of the screw 19. Upward flexing of the spring 8| by downwardpressure on the lever 21, after spring 8| engages member 83, permits thelever 21 and shaft I6 to have continued downward movement beyond the lowflre limit.

The operation of the control device is as follows: This control deviceis particularly adapted for supplying liquid fuel of low specificgravity, such as gasoline, to liquid fuel burners to be used in sub-zerotemperatures which may run as low as minus 60 F. With the inletpassageway 3 connected at the threaded portion 4 to a liquid fuel supplytank providing a liquid head, preferably of about 30 inches, the outletpassageway 38 connected to the burner, and the lever 21 against the highfire stop 15, then if the metering valve 45 has not been adjusted toprovide a desired flow to the burner of say 9 cc. per minute at anambient temperature of the air and liquid of about 70 F., with the floatmember l4 maintaining the liquid level at the line L, thereby providingsay a quarter inch head of liquid above the chamber outlet or seatmember 42, the control device is adjusted as follows: With the covermember 56 removed, the inlet valve II, when the ambient is 70" F., ismanually held against it seat by direct manual pressure thereon, and thehigh or maximum fire adjustment screw 19 is adjusted to raise or lowerthe fulcrum pin 16 until a point on a diametralline of the top surfaceof the float member M, which line is parallel to pin I6, is apredetermined distance below the top edge of the chamber side wall suchthat after the valve member H is released, there will be a one quarterinch liquid head on the chamber outlet. Since the metering valve 45 iscarried by the lever 21, this adjustment of lever 21 by the screw 18will also adjust the metering valve 45 relative to its seat member 42.Now, the inlet valve being released, if it is found that with the liquidhead at the desired height of one quarter inch, the flow through theseat member 42 and from the outlet 38 is less than the desired flow ofsay 9 cc. per minute, then the adjustment screw 64 is turned up or downto adjust the position of the metering valve 45 relative to the lever 21and to its port through the seat member 42. The minimum or low fire ad-J'ustment screw 83 is also adjusted to provide the desired low flame atthe burner, this adjustment, of course, being made when the spring 11 isbelow center and the stop 8| is engaging the stop flange of the screw83. It ma be noted that a lower than customary flame or fuel flow can bemaintained with this control device by reason of the ability of theattendant to clean the orifice or port in the seat member 42 by merelypushing downward on and then releasing the metering valve 45, thusflexing the spring stop 8| and forcing the oriflce cleaning portion 46through the seat member orifice to clean out any dirt, wax or icecrystals which may have accumulated. The control device being ready foroperation, the burner can now be flooded or primed by lifting or pullingupward on the metering stem 49 which 18 and will thereafter flex thesupporting leaf spring 59, thereby permitting the valve portion 41 to bewithdrawn from its seat member orifice beyond its high fire position andfor a greatly increased flow of fuel to the burner. This upward orpriming movement does not withdraw the pin from the vertical portion ofthe bayonet slot and therefore when the stem 49 is released, themetering valve 45, under the force of leaf spring 59, seeks and rests inits high flre position. At the above maximum fire rate of flow to theburner, the inlet valve II will be maintained about .006 of an inch of!its seat by the float member |4 so that there will be a continuoussubstantially constant rate of flow to and through the chamber 2. whilethe burner is in' operation at a given ambient temperature. If thetemperature of the ambient drops or decreases, then the bimetal leverportion 22 will contract to lift the inlet valve relative to the 70? F.constant liquid level line corresponding to the full line position ofthe float member, Fig. 6, to provide a greater rate of inflow to thechamber 2, thereby increasing the head of liquid on the chamber outletto compensate for the increased viscosity or density of the liquid fuel.

. The upward movement of the valve H by the bimetal member or portion 22will result in the float member |4 rising with the increased liquidlevel, thereby depressing the valve II to throttle the inlet to thechamber 2. When the temperature of the ambient has decreased to say 60below zero, then the bimetal portion 22 will have contracted until thefloat member |4 takes the position shown in dash dot lines in Fig.6,whlch will not only raise the valve-adjacent upper corner of the floatmember H but will tilt or rock the float member I4 relative to the valvemember II and to the normally horizontal liquid level line.

portion 22 and the float member M will be correspondingly shifted ormoved toward the dash dot line position of Fig. 6, thereby graduallyincreasing the liquid level in the chamber 2, until, at the minus 60 F.temperature, the level will have been increased substantially to theline L see Fig. 2, thereby providing a liquid headof substantially inch.This increase in liquid head will also in part be caused by thereduction in the force of the float member acting against the liquidhead from the supply tank by reason of the shortening of the lever armto the length X Fig. 6 from the 70 F. length Y, which is the lengthbetween the shaft I6 and the center of buoyancy of the float member. Itis desirable that the increasing liquid head shall not compensate fullyfor the increasing viscosity so as to maintain a constant rate of flowfrom the outlet 38 as the temperature decreases or when the temperatureholds at a new level, because a slightly decreasing flow rate from theoutlet can provide full heat output compensation at the burner by reasonof the increase in the viscosity of the liquid fuel, since the moredense the liquid fuel becomes, the greater the B. t. u. content of thefuel for any given quantity. If the temperature of the fuel and airincreases to say 100 F. above zero, then the float member 4 will takethe dotted line position, Fig. 6, to maintain a lower constant liquidlevel in chamber 2 and the bimetal member will have expanded to increasethe lever arm to a length indicated at Z which increases the force ofthe float member on the inlet valve.

It will be apparent that as the temperature decreases from 70 F. abovezero, the bimetal depressed or moved downward which acts through thespring 58 and leaf spring 59 to move the lever 21 downward against theupward component of force o'fthe compression spring 11. Before theresilient stop member 8| engages the stop screw 83, the spring 'I'I willbe moved overcenter, so that the combined downward component of spring11 and the force of spring 58 will hold the lever 21 in its minimum flowposition with stop 8| against screw 83. This downward movement of thelever 21 will establish a new position for the metering valve portion 41and will also move the inlet valve fulcrum pin |'8 downward in its guideslots 24 from the position a for high fire to the position b so thatthere will be simultaneously provided a new and decreased liquid head onthe outlet of chamber 2 and a reduced effective flow area through theseat member 42. The positioning of the pin It at the lebel b will movethe float member l4 downward to the position indicated by the dash-dotline S, Fig. 2, and establish the liquid level at the line L The bimetallever portion 22 will function in this new position of the valve fulcrumIt to compensate for temperature changes in the same manner as describedabove.

If it is desired to shut off the burner, then the stem 49 is movedfurther downward, compressing the spring 58 against the opposing forceof the low flre stop spring 8| and flexing the spring 8| so that thefulcrum pin I6 is moved further downward in its guide slots 24 until thecenter line of the pin |6 reaches the horizontal line c when the floatmember M will have been moved to the dash-dot line t, Fig. 2, and be inengagement with the bottom wall of chamber 2, the valve beingsimultaneously seated with washer 48 against the seat member 42. Inorder, however, to lock the inlet valve II in closed postion, the pin5|! must pass below and be rotated to lie under the bayonet slotshoulder 53. This further downward movement of the metering valve stem43 will further compress the springs 58 and 8| and will flex the bimetalportion 22 against its inherent resilience even when contracted by theminus F. sub-zero temperature, bringing the fulcrum pin l6 say to theline (I and therefore the float member 4 and the inlet valve I will beresiliently urged against the bottom casing wall and the inlet valveseat respectively so that vibration or jarring of the casing I will notcause movement of any part. Upon movement of the looking pin 50 downwardto underlie the shoulder 53,

the cylindrical metering valve portion 46 will have been moved throughits valve seat aperture, thereby cleaning the seat port of any foreignmatter or wax which may have separated out of the fuel. The positioningof the pin 50 to underlie shoulder 53 will have compressed the valvedisc 3 43 against the seat member 42, thereby sealing the outletpassageway 38. The valve stem 49 may now be rotated either clockwise orcounterclockwise to position the pin 50 under either shoulder 53 of thebayonet slot, thereby wiping the top face of seat member 42 and lockingthe inlet and outlet valves in closed position. v

The control device may be readily disassembled and assembled in thefield as follows: After takspring aperture 6| and the lever aperture 54per- 9 mitting this movement. The lever 21 is now held in this upposition and the metering stem 43 is lifted against the force of thecoil spring 58 and the leaf spring 59, so that the pin will clear thetop of the stem guide member 35. The stem 49 can now be rotated to bringthe pins ",3! in line with the slot 52, thereby permitting withdrawal ofthe metering valve through the apertures GI and 54. The lever 21 can nowbe rotated further upward, lilting the inlet valve II as the bearing pinI3 moves upward in the guide slots 24. When the valve I I has beenwithdrawn from its guide member I and the'bearing pin I3 has been liftedout oi the slots 24, then with the float member I4 clearing the top ofthe guide member 38, the lever 21 can be moved to the left iacim Fig. 2so that the fulcrum slots 23 are removed flre setting or position oi theparts,

from the bearingshatt 33. The disassembly will these subassemblies, thebracket II will be carrying the spring", the metering valve 45 will becarrying the spring 53 and washer 53, and the lever 21 will be carryingthe float member I4 and the inlet valve II. If it is desired to le thesubassembly of the lever 21, this may be readily done by pushing out thebearing pin I3 and snapping the valve II out of its supporting slots I8in the lever I5. bly of the control device will be apparent from theforegoing steps of dlsassembly but it might be noted that with the floatmember positioned to pass over the guide member 36, the slots 29,aided'by the cam portions 33 of the ears 28, are positioned to slide onto the bearing shaft 3|! and then the lever 21 is rotated downwardcounterclockwise to bring the ends of the float member supporting pin I6into the guide slots 24 so that theinlet valve l I hanging verticallywill pass into its guide member 9. The lever 21 is held in an upposition suflicient to permit the pin SI of the metering valve to clearthe top of the guide member and the metering valve is then insertedthrough the aperture 54 and slot 52 when it may be rotated to theposition shown in Fig. 2. Continued downward movement of the lever 21 isnow had and then the coil spring 11 is seated against the lever abutmentI5 and the bracket II is positioned downward into itsseating position asin Fig. 2 and the holding screw I5 is screwed in place. The

'cover member 56 may now be secured in position and the control deviceis ready for operation.

Referring to Fig. '7, the control device here illustrated is constructedfor only two metering valve positions, namely maximum or normal fireposition and burner oil or valve closed position. The low flreadjustment screw 83 is eliminated and likewise the resilient stop member3|, described above, and the coil spring receiving end portion of themain lever 21 is bent or inclined upwardly, as at I03, so that when themetering valve 45 is moved downward to oil position such that the pincan be rotated under the shoulders 53, the lever engaging coil spring 11will not be moved over or below its center line position. The spring T!will therefore be continually exerting an upward component of force onthe lever 21,

even when the metering valve is in its closed and locked position. Theoperation of the control device with the change as in this Fig. 7 andthe adjustment of the same for high or maximum burner flame is the sameas above described in connection with the device of Fig. 2. It istherefore unnecessary to again describe the operation, as the onlychange is the elimination of the low position.

said float member against 10 except that the metering valve and floatposition will automatically move to high fire position upon release ofthe pin 50 from beneath the shoulder 53.

In Fig. 8 there is shown another form of locking means for holding theinlet valve closed and which also is useful to maintain the inlet valveand float member against vibration or movement during transportation,thereby avoiding wearing of the parts which may render the device unfitfor use upon arrival at its destination. The inlet valve I I controllingthe inlet port III is connected to the float member I4 by a lever armI20 which may, if desired, be of a construction similar to the lever I5of Fig. 2, a fulcrum or pin I2I being provided for the lever arm I20.Mounted on the cover member there .is a tubular guide member I22 alinedwith an aperture through the cover member 56 and in which there isreciprocable a manually operable pull rod I23 having a guide andlatching finger or pin I24 which, upon rotation of the rod I23, isseatable upon a guide member shoulder I25 to hold the rod I23 in an upThe rod I23 carries an abutment member I26 having an end portion I21reciprocally guided in a chamber I28 in the inner end portion of the rodI23 and supported against downward movement by a helical coil springI29. The abuIznent member I28 has a horizontal arm I33 engageable withthe underside of the float member I 4, such that when the pin I 24 is onthe shoulder I 25 the spring I 29 will be under compression, therebyholding the inlet valve I I tightly against its seat and the floatmember I4 in an upward locked position, tensioning the lever arm I20.The float member I4 and inlet valve II can be released for operation byrotating the rod I23 to position the pin I24 in line with the guidemember slot I3I and then moving the rod I23 downward into the chamber 2.It will be apparent that this locking means oi! Fig. 8 will be founduseful in other forms of float controlled liquid level devices than thatshown in Fig. .2.

This application is a division or my copending application Serial No.512,716,'flled December 3, 1943, for Flow Control Means, now Patent No.2,427,059, granted September 9, 1947.

what is claimed and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. A liquid level control device, comprising a constant level chamberhaving an inlet and an outlet, a valve member controlling said inlet, afloat member responsive to liquid level in said chamber, a resilientlever operatively connecting said float member to said valve member formovement of said valve member by said float member, abutment meansengageable with said float member, an adjustably supported pivot forsaid lever, and means to.move said pivot to engage said valve memberwith its seat and to'stress said abutment means to hold said valvemember seated with a force reacting against said abutment means.

2. A liquid level control device, comprising a constant level chamberhaving an inlet and an outlet, a valve member controlling said inlet, afloat member responsive to liquid level in said chamber, a resilientbimetal lever operatively connecting said float member to said valvemember for movement of said valve member by said float member, abutmentmeans engageable with said float member, said bimetal lever acting inaccordance with temperature changes to change the position of said floatmember relative to said valve member, an adjustably supported pivot for11 said lever, and means to move said pivot to stress said lever to holdsaid valve member in engagement with its seat and said float member inen- Easement with said abutment means.

3. A liquid level control device, comprising a constant level chamberhaving an inlet and an outlet, a valve member controlling said inlet, alever having arms extending at an angle to each other and having asubstantially U-shaped bimetal member secured at one end to one of saidarms, the other of said arms being connected to said valve member, afloat member secured to the other end or said bimetal member, and meanspositioned between said one of said arms and said float member andpivotally supporting said lever.

4. A liquid level control device comprising a constant level chamberhaving an inlet and an outlet, a valve member controlling said inlet, alever having an arm operatively connected to said valve member andhaving a bimetal member extending from said arm, a metal float member,said bimetal member having an end portion of a single metal, and asolder connection between said float member and said end portion, saidend portion and said float member having substantially the samecoefllcient of expansion so that the solder connection is not strainedupon temperature change.

5. In a liquid flow controlling device, a float and valve supportinglever having downward extending parallel arms, a fulcrum pin extendingbetween and supported in said arms, a float member, a lever journaled onsaid pin and carrying said float member, said last-named lever having anarm extending transversely to said pin and on the opposite side of saidpin from said float member, said arm having a horizontal end slot, avalve member having an end slot receiving said arm, and a cross pinextending across said valve member slot and carried by said valvemember, said horizontal slot having an end portion adJacent its open endof slightly less width than the diameter of said cross pin so that saidvalve member is removably held on said lever.

6. In a liquid level control device, a casing, a float member in saidcasing, said casing having a port, a seatable valve member forcontrolling flow through said port, means resiliently and operativelyconnecting said valve member to said float member for movementtherewith, said casing having a wall portion underlying said floatmember and engageable by said float member, and means extending abovethe liquid level in said casing and cooperable with said float member tohold said float member in direct engagement with said wall portion andto hold said valve member seated so that said valve member and saidfloat member will be fixed against operating movement.

WALTER S. LANDON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 947,801 Cooper Feb. 1, 19101,336,288 Elliott Apr. 6, 1920 1362,150 Shealy Dec. 14, 1920 1,702,145Wilson Feb. 12, 1929 2,199,538 Curry May 7, 1940 2,216,000 CrawfordSept. 24, 194

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 4,703 Great Britain Mar. 4, 1893

